"Gavialis gangeticus."
See anything yet?
Jane said I'm the captain.
I actually said, "See anything yet?"
What are we looking for again?
A gharial.
Never heard of it.
Most people haven't. They like to stay away from other animals.
But they're reptiles that are related to the dinosaurs.
- Do they look like a T. rex? - No.
- A triceratops? - No, more like a--
A pachycephalosaurus?
No, they look like that!
A crocodile with a weird nose?
They're not weird. It's unique.
They've been around for millions and millions of years.
But now, there's only a little over 600 of them left in the whole world.
Only 600?
Poor weird-nosed gharials.
- We need to help them. - But first, we need to understand them.
Which means...
- We need to follow them. - Hurry!
So, what's that nose thing for?
I don't know. Yet. That's what we're here to find out.
Let's follow that nose.
That's too fast! I said, "Too fast!"
I think it's stuck!
We have a problem.
I know. Our mission is over there.
I don't think I wanna be captain anymore.
Turn back!
Looks like the gharials aren't the only thing that might go extinct!
Mom!
I had to get your attention somehow.
I called you three times.
But you know chimpanzees can't swim.
I didn't, actually,
but I'm not the one who had him in the pool in the first place.
He was helping us with our mission.
Was he?
Your mission for today is to work with me.
You know the deal. Work, then swim.
We only have a few hours before your dad and Sasha pick you up for their weekend.
- Mom, we're trying to-- - Save some important animal? I know.
But right now we have some co-op chores to do.
Come on. Out you come.
Why do we live in a building with chores?
Because it's a co-op,
which means we all have to cooperate and do our part
to take care of the building and our shared pool.
I thought you'd love a community coming together.
The faster we paint, the faster that you can get back to saving the... the...
Gavialis gangeticus.
Okay. This one you're making up. That is not a real name.
- It's real. - And they're related to dinosaurs.
Dinosaurs are the best.
Which one's your favorite?
Spinosaurus.
Good answer.
Hey, are you Maria?
Am I?
Yes, I am her.
I mean, that is my name. Maria.
Well, I'm Andre. Kumari told me to come find you?
I just moved in, and I have to get my volunteer hours,
so, I'm all yours.
Mine.
Well, I'm a pretty good painter.
I love art.
The chairs, Mom.
Of course. Yeah, that would be super helpful.
I'll go get some more blushes. Brushes.
Supplies. I will be right back.
Have fun cooperating, Jane!
So, what's your favorite dinosaur?
I have nine. Do you want to hear them in descending or ascending order?
What does it matter? Dinosaurs are extinct.
And if we don't help the gharials, they will be too. Come on, David.
What's a gharial?
A weird-looking reptile that has a big knob at the end of its nose.
Like this.
We need to find out what the knob is for
so we can help them before they disappear forever.
That's important work. Anything I can do to help?
You're already doing it.
You help my mom paint so we can get back to our mission.
Got it. Good luck.
I like him.
Jane?
Jane! Jane?
Nice try, Jane. Come on.
Out of the pool. Now.
That was a pretty epic splash.
Yes, it was.
Thank you.
So, any luck with the "gharee-elle"?
Gharial. And no.
Apparently, chair painting is more important than species preservation.
You're pretty intense, huh?
You have no idea.
Yeah.
I'm gonna go dry off. We'll be back in a minute to help paint.
Well, take your time.
Well, that was embarrassing.
I know. How can you think painting chairs is more important than saving animals?
Because living here means volunteering for two hours a month.
It's not that much to ask.
People always come up with something more important than helping animals.
But, if we do nothing, they'll disappear. Forever.
I need a minute on my own. Please.
Every individual matters.
Every individual has a role to play.
Every individual makes a difference every day.
Try telling that to my mom.
"Look down."
The gharial!
Let's go!
Where did the gharial go?
- She must be around here. - How do you know it's a she?
Good point. They must be around here somewhere.
Maybe we should split up to cover more ground.
Do you have your walkie so we can stay in touch?
Affirmative. Over.
And whoever finds the gharial first gets to be captain. Deal?
What?
So that's how you wanna play this. You're on!
What's making that noise?
I'm not falling for that again.
If I was a gharial, where would I be?
Well, first of all, I wouldn't be standing.
I'd be on my belly.
Here comes Captain David.
It's getting louder.
What's getting louder?
Your gharial? Did I say that right this time?
Yeah. David and I lost track of it.
Well, what kind of sound is it making?
Kind of like a popping noise.
Like...
No, more like a...
They really are like dinosaurs.
See, people think dinosaurs roared like lions.
But they probably sounded more like crocodiles and alligators,
who hiss and chirp.
Thank you so much for helping me.
Why don't you take a quick break, see if you can track down that popping?
Okay. Here you go, Mom.
See you later, Andre. Thank you!
She wasn't helping at all, was she?
Hey, if you see a chimpanzee, don't tell him I was here.
What?
I found the gharial!
Well done, Captain David.
No, I found it!
I was heading right towards it!
I'm the captain now!
What?
Did the gharial just make that sound?
She's a lot like me when I was a kid.
- Really? - Yep.
I used to want to save every animal I came across.
Must've brought home dozens of birds and baby squirrels.
It drove my parents crazy.
Yeah, we've had our fair share of injured birds.
I miss that feeling.
What feeling?
Being a kid. Thinking you can change the world.
She really does believe she can.
So that's what you use that bulb for! To make a popping noise.
But why?
Jane, Captain David here!
Great. You just scared it off!
What did we scare off?
The gharial!
No way. That's not possible.
I found--
We found the gharial, and it's making a weird--
Popping noise. Like...
Two gharials, and they're both making a popping noise?
Do you know what this means?
Greybeard and I are both gonna be captain?
No.
Well, maybe.
It means that they're doing what we're doing with our walkie-talkies!
Playing?
Talking!
- Still cool. - But we still have to confirm it.
See if you can get your gharial to the pool.
How do you think we should--
Never mind. Greybeard's on it.
He's scaring it towards you.
Go, Greybeard! Go!
Good work, Greybeard. Gharials don't like to be near other animals.
Watch out, Greybeard, you can't swim!
Greybeard, jump on this!
Here.
It wasn't me. It was Greybeard.
I'll get you some more towels.
What about Greybeard?
I'll clean him off.
I just got this shirt.
Any luck with your mission?
A bit.
We found two gharials,
and they're both making this cool popping noise with their noses.
Like this.
- Why do they do that? - That's what we're trying to figure out.
Well, you'd better hurry. They're endangered.
Do you want me to keep helping you for a bit?
I think I've got that covered.
You go save those gharials, and I'll deal with our volunteer hours.
Every individual has a role to play.
You do your part, and I'll do mine.
Sorry about the paint, Mom.
It's okay.
But Greybeard's grounded.
Jane, over here.
Here.
Get in. I have an idea.
They won't know we're coming.
Check it out. Aren't they snout-tacular?
Great work.
They don't call me Cocaptain David for nothing.
Nobody calls you that.
Greybeard calls me that.
- They're talking! - But what are they saying?
Got ya.
That worked out better than I thought it would.
Nice one.
They're on the move!
"They"? Does that mean there's more than one gharial?
The first one found a friend.
- They've been pop-popping nonstop. - We think that's how they talk.
I bet they're saying, "Stay away from the river with the big dam."
That's very specific.
I checked them out online.
One of the reasons gharials are going extinct
is that people keep building dams on the rivers where they live.
- Why? - To make electricity.
They should stop.
Well, people need lights.
But not all the time.
Not if everyone was more careful about how much power they use.
Like turning off the lights?
We wouldn't need to make so much electricity.
And the gharials would be saved?
It'd be a step in the right direction.
You're right. And it would help lots of other animals too.
Speaking of saving animals,
I'm gonna check on your pal Greybeard to make sure I got all the paint out.
He's drying off in a sunny spot.
He does love the sun.
Yeah, he is pretty cool.
Another gharial?
But it doesn't have the thingy on its nose.
- Don't they all have those? - Maybe not.
It could be a girl. Girl gharials are smaller than boys.
- Just like that one. - She's going in the water.
Gharial challenge. How long can you blow bubbles underwater?
- Eight seconds. You? - We're about to find out.
Nine seconds. New record.
Are they having a buzzing bubble battle like we are?
Kinda looks like that. Here goes double digits!
Ten seconds. Wanna go for 11?
After we finish our mission.
But how are we gonna do that?
Come with me.
What do you think? Your mom and I make a pretty good team, huh?
We've still got a lot to do.
We're here to help. And observe.
Well, your mom's a fantastic painter.
Andre's the real talent.
Looks like the gharials aren't the only thing buzzing.
- That's it! - What's it?
Boy gharials use their bulbs to make buzzing sounds and bubbles
to impress girl gharials,
just like Andre's using his painting skills...
And dino knowledge.
...to impress my mom.
Is it working?
I do like dinosaurs.
No, you don't. You said they were scary.
I still get to be captain?
We all do.
There's our gharial pair.
And look, the girl laid some eggs.
That means there'll be more gharials in this river soon.
Looks like gharials figured out
that to be a good team, you need to talk to each other.
Yeah, Greybeard and I already figured that out too.
Right, Cocaptain?
Wait, which way was the waterfall again?
Help save the gharials.
Mom, we need your help.
Greybeard's still wet from our gharial adventure.
Just a second, Jane.
Who are you texting?
Is it Andre? I still need to tell him my list of favorite dinosaurs.
Aren't you gonna be late for your call with the herpa--
Herpetologist. That means reptile expert.
Dr. Ruchira Somaweera should be calling us about gharials any second now.
Yeah.
That's gotta be him!
Can you take over with Greybeard? And say hi to Andre for me.
Okay, off you go. Have fun.
Hello? Hi.
No, no, I'm not busy.
Hi, Ru.
Hi, Jane. Hey, David.
Thanks for talking to us about gharials.
We have a lot of questions.
And my first one is, did you make those cool crocodile paintings behind you?
Thank you.
Well, I can't take all the credit. Part of that was done by the crocs.
A baby crocodile can paint?
I was studying these crocodiles,
so we put some nontoxic paint on their belly
and took a press.
Art shows us a different way of looking at things.
- So cool. - Exactly.
When you see them, you don't see a cute and cuddly, fluffy animal.
People are scared of them, but they have a beautiful side.
What's the biggest thing people don't understand about crocodilians?
Crocodilians are the best parents of all reptiles.
And in case of the gharial, its dad is looking after babies
and carrying them on their back and protecting them from predators.
Look at all those babies, Jane.
They're so cute. I didn't know gharials were such good parents.
Well, they're cold-blooded, but they can be really warmhearted.
When did you know you wanted to study crocodilians and reptiles?
Since I could walk. Here, check out these photos.
How old were you on that beach?
About 15.
I found reptiles to be mysterious, mesmerizing and also misunderstood,
so I wanted to study them and see how we can help them.
What can we do to help?
Tell everyone why crocodiles are so important.
For example, they're apex predators,
meaning they're on the top of the food chain.
The gharials eat fish and keep the fish numbers controlled.
Rehan!
How do you know my name?
Because you're one of the youngest Australians
to ever write a scientific paper.
Jane has you on her hero wall.
I read online that you were only ten when you discovered a special friendship
between an octopus and the brown-spotted wrasse fish.
But I couldn't have done it without my dad.
Rehan, when he was three years old, used to ride my back in snorkeling
and explore the ocean.
Just like a dad gharial.
Yeah, they're super cool.
Especially since they lived when the dinosaurs roamed the earth.
Dinosaurs are awesome. Quick, name your favorite two.
Dilophosaurus and Spinosaurus.
Kosmoceratops and Giganotosaurus.
What else can we do to help gharials and other crocodilians?
You can raise funds and donate that to conservation.
For example, at Rehan's school, they can take used plastic containers
and exchange that for money and donate that money to save species.
- Maybe you could do something like that. - Great ideas.
And everyone, keep your curiosity up.
And remember, it's not only the cute and cuddly animals that matter.
Thanks, Rehan. And thank you too, Ru.
Yeah, thank you so much.
- Bye! - Bye! Bye-bye!
You thinking what I'm thinking?
That I wish I could be a baby gharial riding on their dad's back?
No, that we can help the gharials
- by telling our neighbors about them. - That too.
And then we can imagine we're baby gharials riding on our dad's back.
Let's go.
- Come on, Jane! - Coming!